20 THE WEEKEND NEOS KOSMOS | SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2016 DIGITAL.NEOSKOSMOS.COM The true hero How an American named Asa K. Jennings saved hundreds of thousands of Greeks in Asia Minor BILLY COTSIS In our society, we often hear the word hero bandied about, yet do we really know what it means? When a new footy season kicks off, we look to our 'heroes' to lead our respective teams, the media and the public using the term as if it were going out of fashion. With this in mind, I introduce one the greatest heroes the world has ever known; a man who was truly great enough to stand alongside the likes of Alexander the Great. He saved hundreds of thousands of Greek speakers, and wasn't even a Hellene; he was a humble American who at first glance you may have blinked and missed, fivefeet, two-inches, with a slight hunch. His name was Asa K. Jennings, and he just happened to be in Smyrna in 1922 when the Asia Minor catastrophe started to unfold, ruining lives forever. SMYRNA In 1918, the Greek military triumphantly made its way to the Smyrna coast, a Greek and Christian majority city in Asia Minor. Not since the city of Philadelphia fell to the powerful Ottomans in 1390 had the Hellenes controlled territory in the region. Relations between Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians (and Jews) with the Ottomans were already tense. Killings, death marches and a tragic end to the history between these peoples and Anatolia was unfolding, though it could have been stopped by the Allies of Europe. While the Turkish people had stood, generally, as friends, with their Orthodox Christian brothers for centuries, the 20th century brought about terrible destruction and nationalism, so much so that the people of all these ethnicities are still trying to come to grips with what happened. TRAGEDY In early September 1922, when the defeated Greek military had made a heartless exit from Smyrna, the forces of Kemal Ataturk made their entry into the city where Turks were already providing retribution for the Greek occupation. A city that had known peace, even in World War I, was being destroyed. Suburbs were razed and citizens were rounded up; many were killed, most forced to the harbour where they remained for two weeks, hungry and crying. 'Allied' warships remained neutral in the beautiful harbour of Smyrna, a harbour I once visited with a heavy heart. These ships would beat back most who tried to board. A Japanese merchant vessel happened to be sailing past. Disgusted, and with no vested interest, they dumped their entire cargo. They lost plenty of money doing that. In a heroic move, they docked and took as many poor refugees as they could, taking them to Piraeus. The American embassy managed to protect hundreds of people, but weren't able to keep up with the demand of the hundreds of thousands. That's where Asa comes into things. A missionary with the YMCA, Asa's whole purpose in life was to help people. To him, it didn't matter what your ethnicity was - you were a human being, which proved to be more than enough in Smyrna. NEGOTIATIONS With the Christian sections of the city in ruins and people begging for their lives, Asa made a dash to see the 'father of the Turks' Kemal Ataturk. Not willing to take no for an answer from Turkish troops, he forced his way to his lodgings (there may have been a bribe). Kemal was initially intrigued by an American who sought to protect the Greeks and the minorities. Believing that Asa would not be able to rescue the Greeks, he made a deal with him. The deal was simple. He gave Asa a few days to take as many refugees as possible to Greece. Without any real resources, the Turkish military thought Asa was a fool. And on paper, he actually was, for he genuinely had no resources except the love in his heart and the faith he carried. With that, Asa immediately set about his rescue attempts, establishing a first aid facility f pregnant women on the docks. Next he made his way to a US naval ship. l . a o y s o hal he iht ol. er, as, nere-ept his the ed. Asa set cue tabirst for omcks. e his naval Asa began his negotiations with a theoretically neutral US ship. As evening fell, he and the crew spotted a swimmer in distress, a naked his with cally ship. spot- mer in naked woman. The crew were unwilling to rescue the swimmer. Not only did Asa condemn this cowardly act, he forced them to rescue the swimmer against orders. Asa then ensured a young boy who had been sneakily rescued by other sailors earlier in the day was reunited with the woman, who was his sister. The two would make The two would make poster island for the current inspiration that Asa their way to the comfort and protection of America. Next Asa negotiated with an Italian ship to take refugees who would pay a fee. Though he was disgusted by people looking to profit from human suffering, at least he had a means to rescue 2,000 more Greeks. He accompanied the ship to Mytilene, the home and poster island for the current refugee crisis and was then taken back to Smyrna by an American destroyer. Meanwhile, the defeated Greek navy with around 25 ships lay at anchor. From what we know, at this stage Asa hadn't exactly figured out how he would save the refugees. But what we do know, is that the harbour of Mytilene proved to be the inspiration that Asa needed. With the permission to represent the non-Turks, Asa next called an extraordinary meeting with the British Consul, defeated Greek military and navy leaders. When not much came of that, he took matters into his own hands, forcing his way onto the Greek ship of Kilkis, where he received the support he needed from Cap